PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball returns to the road this weekend for a four-game series at Maryland starting Friday. Saturday will include a doubleheader with the first game scheduled for seven innings. The Scarlet Knights picked up two wins in Minneapolis to start the season, leading the Big Ten with 28 runs scored during week-one action.
Big Ten Network+ is set to broadcast each of the four contests. A
Big Ten Network+ subscription gives access to live streaming produced by the Big Ten Network in partnership with the member schools of the Big Ten Conference. A television provider is not needed to subscribe.
A free radio broadcast for each game this weekend will be available through ScarletKnights.com and the Scarlet Knights App. Live stats links from Sidearm Sports are available as well to follow.
The Scarlet Knights won on Opening Day for the first time since 2008 with a 2-1 victory over Indiana, the defending Big Ten champions from 2019.
Harry Rutkowski permitted only one run with eight strikeouts over six innings, as
Kyle Muller posted a zero and
Brian Fitzpatrick struck out 5-of-6 batters faced for a two-inning save.
Chris Brito crushed a solo homer in his first at bat of the season and
Grant Shulman provided an RBI single for run support.
On Saturday,
Evan Sleight blasted an opposite-field grand slam to set RU on the way to a 16-1 victory over Minnesota. It was the most runs and largest margin of victory for the program in a Big Ten game since joining the conference. Brito added another grand slam to go along with homers from
Jordan Sweeney and
Ryan Lasko to back
Ben Wereski, who surrendered only a run with no walks and five strikeouts in six innings in his RU debut.
The Hoosiers took the Saturday nightcap, 4-2.
Dale Stanavich highlighted the game for Rutgers by striking out 7-of-12 batters faced in relief. To wrap the weekend, Minnesota took a 9-1 lead after two innings and held on for a 13-8 Sunday victory.
Josh Rodriguez crushed his first collegiate homer, while
Danny DiGeorgio connected for a solo shot and a grand slam. The Scarlet Knights registered three grand slams over the weekend after not hitting once since 2016. Overall, the eight homers are the most for the team through four games this century.
Hitting: Brito's two homers brought him to eight for his career and a team-leading 1.362 OPS (.529 OBP, .833 SLG) to start the season. Sweeney led the way with five hits, while Rodriguez drew four walks and was hit by a pitch. Brito, Sweeney and DiGeorgio are all tied for second in the Big Ten with six RBIs so far. In addition,
Richie Schiekofer has reached base in 16 consecutive games dating back to last season.
The 28 runs scored are the most for Rutgers through four games of a season since 2007.
Pitching: Rutkowski is set to make his 33
rd collegiate start and 19
th to begin a weekend on Friday. The left-hander owns 159 career strikeouts, needing seven more to tie Bert Garrett (166) for 10
th in the program record book. Wereski is set to follow in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader, permitting just three hits in his start last weekend.
Brent Teller is slated to take the ball for game three. The right-hander struck out four in 3.2 innings in his RU debut. The game four starter is to be determined.
The Scarlet Knights used 15 different pitchers last weekend.
Jared Bellissimo logged three shutout innings for a save, while Fitzpatrick sat down all six batters faced in his first appearance since 2019.
Eric Reardon leads the staff with 67 career games.
The pitching staff walked only 10 batters in Minneapolis to rank for the lowest surrendered in the Big Ten so far.
Rutgers is set for its first visit to College Park since 2018 and is 2-7 in Big Ten games against Maryland. The Terrapins lead the series, 12-4, since 1950.
Rutgers opens Bainton Field with a three-game series versus Ohio State on March 19.
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